Dealing with Dog Waste

DEALING WITH DOG WASTE Identification and Definition a problem Context: A 2009 research report by Zero2IPO claims that the number of pets in China has grown 500% from 1999 to 2007. There are now estimated 200 million-plus pets in China and this number is expected to grow to 500 million by 2015 China, the world's most populous nation, has about 150 million pet dogs, about one for every nine people. An average Chinese city has about 100,000 dogs and gains about 10,000 per year, while large cities can have twice as many. Beijing had more than 500,000 pet dogs in 2004. Registered dogs in Beijing increased 16% this year, reaching 530,000 dogs. But the actual number of dogs in Beijing is actually much higher. The Social and Environmental Impacts of Uncollected Dog Waste Dog waste in urban areas is a largely ignored issue that is nevertheless the source of serious social and environmental problems. Dog waste presents a problem at two stages of waste management: collection and disposal. Picking up: the Collection of Dog Waste Uncollected dog waste can negatively affect park aesthetics as well as public health and safety. It can also damage turf and other vegetation. In natural parks or along the edge of water bodies, accumulating dog waste can adversely impact sensitive habitat areas. On a broader level, uncollected dog waste is an environmental issue. Nonhuman waste can be a significant source of bacterial contamination in urban watersheds. While livestock is the major source of this problem in rural areas, dogs (along with dense populations of wild birds such as seagulls or Canada geese) are typically the source of contamination in urban areas. Pathogens found in animal waste that is â€Å"zoonotic†Ã¢â‚¬â€œcapable of being transmitted to humans from animals–are the major cause of concern. If ingested, some of these pathogens (including Cryptosporidium, Giardia and Salmonella among others) may result in serious illness or even death. Roundworm and hookworm infections are the zoonotic diseases most commonly associated with dog waste, although only waste from infected dogs carry these parasites. A comparison of three resident surveys about cleaning up after dogs. StudySurvey Results Beijing(1999)†¢ 62% always cleaned up after the dog, 23% sometimes, 15% never †¢ Disposal method: trash can (66%), toilet (12%), other 22% Shanghai(2004)†¢ 51% of dog owners do not walk dogs †¢ 69% claimed that they cleaned up after the dog †¢ 31% do not pick up †¢ Disposal methods: trash can 54%, toilet 20%, compost pile 4% †¢ 4% train pet to poop in own yard †¢ 85% agreed that pet wastes contribute to water quality problems Wuhan(2009)†¢ 44% of dog owners do not walk dogs †¢ Dog walkers who clean up most/all of the time 59% †¢ Dog walkers who never or rarely cleanup 41% Of those who never or rarely clean up, 44% would not cleanup even with fine, complaints, or improved sanitary collection or disposal methods †¢ 63% agreed that pet wastes contribute to water quality problems Table 1 Among those residents surveyed, the most common reasons for dog owner’s behavior in terms of dealing with their dog’s waste are p rovided below: Reasons for not picking it upReasons for picking up †¢ because it eventually goes away †¢ embarrassed †¢ too much work †¢ not prepared †¢ no reason †¢ small dog, small waste †¢ use as fertilizer †¢ sanitary reasons †¢ Cleaner will clean No awareness†¢ it's the law †¢ environmental reasons †¢ hygiene/health reasons †¢ Personal courtesy †¢ it should be done †¢ keep the park clean Table 2 Symptoms: Why many pedestrian do not want to go to park especially elders and children? Dogs leave excretion at random in the grass or in the path. The unbearable smelly odor drives people away. They are afraid of being bite by the dog. Many people get sick after a close contact with dog. No one wants to use the amenity or recreation facilities in the park due to the dirty leaved by dogs. Why the crap always can be seen in the park? Many people walk their dog in the public area, and they don’t collect the pet’s manure. Why doesn’t the owner collect the excretion? Refer to the table2. Problem: People lack awareness and tools to collect the drops. Traditional Dog Waste Disposal Get a good pooper scooper. I hate to point out the obvious, but really, just pick it up. Problem solved. Swing by your local hardware store or any pet store and pick up a poop scooper that works for you. There are several varieties with varying lengths and scoop apparatus. If you can find someone to help you, all the better. Get the lucky individual to follow you around with a bucket while you scoop and deposit dog poo into the bucket. It’s advisable to try to avoid hitting your helper’s fingers. Dig a hole for depositing poop in. This is another simple and effective idea. If in your yard you have an area far away from most activity or just a good place to designate as a poop graveyard, grab a shovel and get to work. Only you know how much dog poop you have to dispose of, so use your judgment when deciding how big of a hole to dig. Just make sure to dig the hole at least a foot deep. If you have the energy, go for two feet. You will also need to be certain of where wires and cables have been buried. That would not be a very dignified death. Invest in some dog poop bags. Whether you walk your dog for exercise or just plain don’t have a good place for your dog to drop a dooker, keep a few poop bags in your pocket for quick dog poop cleanup. I know it’s not the most appetizing prospect, but it’s really not that bad. Using poop bags is easy and fairly sanitary. Put your hand in the dog poop bag, grab the dog poop with the bag, turn the bag inside out with your other hand, and tie it up. Hire a pet waste removal service. If dog waste removal ain’t your style or you simply can’t find enough hours in the day to take care of the dog’s business, there are people out there who’ll be happy to take your dog poop as long as it’s accompanied by a little cash. They’re pretty easy to find, too. Grab a phonebook or hit the interwebs. Most folks who subscribe to this service set it up so someone comes out weekly or biweekly. If for some reason this service isn’t available in your area, just hire a neighbor kid. Dog training 101. Strategic poop locations are key. If you have the time and the inclination, start training your dog to choose the same region of the yard for pooping every time. While training books are readily available and supply much more detail, the Cliff’s Notes version is simply persistence and positive reinforcement. Once the training is complete, you will never regret it. Having the poop in a concentrated area will significantly cut down the time it takes for poop patrol. Contaminations: Fecal coliforms. Fecal coliforms, such as E. coli, are abundantly present in dog poop. These microorganisms can make the water that we rely on for fishing, swimming, and drinking unsafe. Effects of E. coli can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, and headaches. Roundworms. Roundworm eggs can be found in dog feces and can be easily transferred to other hosts through ingestion. This is especially dangerous if you have a dog that eats poop. Unfortunately, this is a pretty common behavior. Humans are at risk, too; children in particular. Not because kids generally make a habit of eating poo, but they do frequently put their hands in their mouths regardless of what they’ve been doing. Giardia. Another parasite sometimes found in dog feces that can be transferred to animals and humans through ingestion is giardia. Giardia is generally the culprit for Montezuma’s revenge and causes diarrhea, cramping, and abdominal pain. Most commonly it is contracted through the drinking of water that has been tainted by feces. Salmonella. Salmonella can also be found in and spread by dog feces. It can be transferred from dog to dog or even from dog to human. Avoid feeding your dog any uncooked meats or eggs. Statistics: The law enacted in other cities and the effectiveness of the law. The Law New York City’s Dog Poop Scoop Law How much do you know about New York City’s dog poop scoop law? According to Section 161. 03 of the New York City Health Code, your there are a lot of places where your dog can’t poop: a) A person who owns, possesses or controls a dog, cat or other animal shall not permit the animal to commit a nuisance on a sidewalk of any public place, on a floor, wall, stairway or roof of any public or private premises used in common by the public, or on a fence, wall or stairway of a building abutting on a public place. Who can issue you a ticket if your dog poops and you don’t scoop? Authorized employees of New York City’s Departments of Health, Sanitation, or Parks and Recreation. England, Scotland and Wales The Litter (Animal Droppings) Order 1991 of the Environmental Protection Act (1990) places a duty on local authorities to keep the following areas clear of dog faeces; †¢Any public walk or pleasure ground †¢Any land laid out as a garden or used for the purpose of recreation †¢Any part of the seashore which is frequently used by large numbers of people, and managed by the person having direct control of it as a tourist resort or recreational facility †¢Any esplanade or promenade Any land not forming part of the highway or, in Scotland, a public road, which is open to the air, which the public are permitted to use on foot only, and which provides access to retail premises †¢A trunk road picnic area †¢A picnic site. Northern Ireland The Litter (Northern Ireland) Order 1993 section 6 gives local authorities the duty to keep i ts relevant land or any relevant road for which it is responsible, clear of litter and refuse (including dog faeces). Prosecution of Dog owners who fail to clear up In England and Wales The Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996, allows authorities to designate any land in their area as poop scoop areas without any requirement to provide signs or dog waste bins The land must be publicly accessible and open to the air, however the following areas are not included: †¢Carriageways with a speed limit of more than 40 mph †¢Land used for agriculture or woodlands †¢Land which is predominantly marshland, moor or heath †¢Rural common land The penalty for not clearing up dog fouling can be up to ? 1,000 if taken to court, but there is also provision for a fixed penalty scheme with a fine of ? 0 in England. In England the main legislation relating to dog fouling is dealt with under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Part IV). Exceptions to the offence are: †¢The person in charge of the dog has a reasonable excuse for not clearing up (being unaware of the fouling or not having the means to clean up is not an excuse) †¢The owner or occupier of the land has consented to the faeces being left †¢The person puts the faeces in a bin on the land †¢The person in charge of the dog has a registered visual impairment In Northern Ireland Under the Litter (Northern Ireland) Order 1994, it is an offence for the owner of a dog to not to clear up after their dog if it has left faeces on publicly accessible land. The penalty is up to ? 500. The fixed penalty rate is ? 10. In Scotland The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 section 48 makes it an offence to allow a dog to foul a footpath, local authority grass verge, a local authority pedestrian precinct and any local authority maintained recreation or sports ground. The fine is up to ? 500. What can I do about a dog fouling offence? To report an offence contact your local authority to find out what the dog control procedures are in your area, and make note of the following details: †¢Name and address of the person in charge of the dog †¢A description of the dog †¢Details of the date, time and location of the offence. If the fouling takes place at regular times it may be possible for dog wardens to witness the fouling. In most cases the wardens will warn the offender before taking legal action, which is usually enough to deter further offences. Dog Warden Scheme This is one of the most effective ways of tackling the dog fouling problem. The dog warden has 3 important roles in the community: †¢Enforcement – enforcing the legislation relating to dog fouling, dogs in general and local bye-laws †¢Educational – to promote responsible attitudes to dog ownership, to develop an understanding of the role of the dog warden and how the public can be supportive †¢Practical – handling and securing stray dogs, dealing with problems relating to noisy and nuisance dogs. Effectiveness of the law binding: Low effectiveness not because of being lazy but because it just a bizarre practice to pick up the dog shit. So only 10% of the citizens would pick up the dog poop in daily life, besides recruiting and keeping dog warden is a very huge investment, the way to collect evidences is also a difficult aspect due to the large area to supervise and lots of cameras need to install to spot the crime. There is one opinion cited below will back up the statement that so few people will obey the law Embarrassment No matter what the size or breed of dog, there has always been one inevitable constant—poop. Oh yeah, lots of it, folks. Brown poop, green poop, runny poop, and even some very pretty poop thanks to those dogs who liked to chew things up and swallow the little bits. Because our family was never real big on walking the dogs, our front yard had a tendency to become a minefield of smelly brown bombs. And guess whose job it was to go around and clean it all up? I can’t take all the credit as I had brothers who were thrown into the party, as well, but I think you get the picture. Of all the chores that we had, going on â€Å"poop patrol† was the one our dad derived the most pleasure out of making us do. The guy just loved to stand above us on the deck, laugh maniacally, and point out all the little piles that we had missed. Our poop scoop technology wasn’t very advanced. One of us (the lucky one) would carry a spade shovel around the yard while the other (not so lucky) followed with a five-gallon pail lined with a garbage bag. What we all carried was a big steaming pile of embarrassment about the chore at hand. A close eye was kept on the street for friends who might by passing by. If one was spotted, we immediately dropped what we were doing so we could pretend to be doing anything other than picking up dog crap. These are the memories that haunt me. Although the law has little effective but the law is inevitable in arising human’s awareness. Once the behavior become a social norm It has reached a point where it's socially unacceptable to leave your dog's poop on the sidewalk or in someone else's beautiful front garden for some innocent wanderer to accidentally step in and track all over their car or house. It keeps areas with frequent city traffic looking tidy and clean. It's just something that is done. Description of our product: Magic rod ? Magic rod ? Magic rod I is the portable one. Description: The length of the rod is about half meter when the stick is pulled out to the most. There is a button at the upper end of the rod, the scoop will open when press the button and then the waste will be picked up and sealed in the disposable bag. After that the owner need to takes out the bag and throw it to the trash bin. Magic rod ? is the multi-functional one Description: This is for rent; the multi-functions not only comprise the main function of picking poop but also can be used as a walking stick, chair for the aging group which prefer to walk dog, exercise in the morning. The big round plate which has two hole inside is a handle but it can transform to a chair when press down. And the stick is collapsible, push in the stick to a certain height in order to adapt to your comfort. After picking up the excrement you can lean the magic rod to a certain angle and drag it to anywhere, there is a wheel in each of the leg which enables the host to drag like dragging a travel suitcase. Our marketing Methods: http://www. getridofthings. com/get-rid-of-dog-poop. htm